This beer pours a clear golden-straw color. The head is one inch in height, and recedes slowly into a firm cap of lacing. The aroma is of light caramel, toffee, and hints of darks fruits and butter. The taste has all the subtleties and nuances of the aroma, but they are all a bit stronger. The mouthfeel is appropriately light bodied with lively carbonation. Overall, this is the best American Macro Lager I have had by far. I could easily drink this again.

Been wanting to try this storied label for years and finally saw it while in St. Cloud. Not cheap for a Macro style beer but well worth it. After opening up the 12 pack of bottles the label looked familiar and I remember distributing this when I was in college working at a local beer distributor in the 80's and this at that time was a cheap off brand.

A-I'll call it gold..clear...little head...

S-The smell is different for this style and has almost a banana bread scent ...very sweet and sticky smelling...I like..

T-Pretty sweet for this style...bet the corn bill is high in this one....maybe that is what gives off the sticky sweet aroma.

M-For as sweet and corny as this tastes it is also pretty clean and smooth drinking.

O-This is really sliding down nicely. A nice sweeter style American Adjunct Lager with more flavor than almost all in this style. Totally different animal than Premium which I expected.

Hauenstein Beer was a throw-away beer when I was in high school.
How things change! This is a fantastic local beer. Now I had it in the returnable bottle, which was excellent...it must be even better on tap. Schell's Brewery brews this on contract

Summertime out on the lake or at the BBQ this beer fills the bill.
Straw colored nice one finger head...this beer has a faint corn taste. The surprise comes with the finish strong and clean w/o any lingering funk. Very drinkable!

If you love lagers and want a good one,look no further than Hauenstein. It literal german translation is "striking rock" and this is a beer which definitely rocks.Its got a cool little mascot too.

Schells doesn't just repackage their Deer Brand (or any other formula) into Hauenstein bottles,this is brewed from the old recipe.I won't go into the subtleties of taste,just know that this is a darn good beer,and is worth seeking out.

Appearance: Pale straw colored body with good carbonation and small light head. What is expected from an AAL; nothing more, nothing less. Nevertheless a good representation of the style's appearance.

Smell: Sweet, semi-corny but mostly that crisp dry smell that is characteristic of the style.

Taste: Slightly sweet up front with a small amount of bitterness towards the end. (this of course is for comparison among all other AAL's tried) Quality malts give way for a very impressive, light beer.

Mouthfeel: Crisp. Probably one of best examples of the definition of refreshing in any beer. Very smooth and clean.

Overall: Since I review to style, I view this beer as a perfect example of the style. It has always been a favorite of mine and I'm definitely privileged to have family in distribution range of this brew. The history alone of this beer and Schells would make anyone interested in a bottle. A truly cherished and hidden gem of MN.

A piece of brew from New Ulm in snow country usa. Independent brewery. Just visit their website, it's heart warming. First time I had one out of the box I immediately went back and bought another 12 pack. You know, in case the store burned down and I couldn't get more. $10/12 pack bottles = very affordable. I also picked up a 6-er of Hamms which this beer utterly smokes.

Taste (5) : This is what beer is supposed to taste like. At least, in lager form. Absolute perfection. I dare you to find an american lager priced this cheap that tastes better than this swill. Beautiful, fresh wheat, hints of corn and just a little adjunct, but smooth as a baby's hind end. I've had a couple that have tasted off, so I'm not sure if their quality control is 100% - after all, they are a small, small brewery that brews ONLY this beer. I'm sure their staff is less than a dozen people. If you buy a 12 pack of bottles you're bound to find 90% of them absolutely unforgettable...

Mouthfeel (4) : carbonated and crisp. Smooth. Smooth. Smooth.

Overall (4.12) : The hops are so well balanced with the malt it's almost a crime. You don't find hop flavor in american lager, and when you do, it's certainly not balanced like this. My friends died when I brought this beer over for a camp fire. The conversation immediately went from town hall discussions to "where in the hell did you find this beer? And where can I get some? Like tomorrow?". They were happy. I was happy. Hauenstein makes people happy. Just try it.

Sampled yesterday on 1/3/15. Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured in to a flute glass. The alcohol content (ABV) isn't listed so I am guessing between 4.5% to around 5%.

Pours a straw-yellow in color with a thin white head. Some spotty lacing is seen when sipped. The aroma is of grains with a hint of lemon zest. Bit more going on with the taste as there is a hint of sweet corn also. Really tasty and is very smooth. Wasn't sure at first about this one but is one of the best ones of this style that I tried. Lighter-medium bodied with good carbonation. A great brew of this beer style.

The beer pours a pure golden in color with a rapidly disappearing head. The aroma is slightly sweet and floral. The taste is slightly sweet grain with a bitter and dry hop finish. It is well carbonated and crisply refreshing. It is like Old Milwaukee with a strong German lager like hop finish. Alternately it strikes me that if you married Old Style with Budweiser, but added more flavor and realized their full potential, then you would have this. This is a great regional American adjunct lager.

This is a solid local adjunct lager. Nothing outrageously special but in the style it holds its own. I can just picture a farmer from New Ulm tillin' up his land with a can of Hauenstein balancing on his stomach.

It pours a typical fizzy yellow with a diminutive head and zero lacing. About average for the style. Pretty complex nose for an adjunct- some hops come through as well as grain and a touch of citrus goodness. Taste follows suit. Mouthfeel is average.

As a college student this was my go-to brew and I've always really enjoyed it. Great label, good beer- simple and unpretentious. Get some.

D: Wonderful. I could easily kick back a few of these, no problem. There motto, "A Beer with a Little Character", is quite suiting considering this beer hits you like a light beer but has a complex character that makes you want more. Great for summertime

Pours a brilliant pale gold (straw) in color, topped with a frothy white head and just a little bit of clingy lace. Fairly good head retention. Carbonation is fairly brisk.

I can see how someone might say the nose is pretty bland here, and I would agree up to a point; there's just a dusting of pale malts and very little hop presence as we would come to define by today's American craft standards. Yet in comparison to others in the style (Pale Lager / Adjunct Lager) Hauenstein is at least par for the course and certainly less-offensive than what I've experienced on occasion from comparable national brands.

Sweetish on the first sip, with a lightly vegetal quality and some fruity (red apple) aromatics. Towards the end of the palate there's an adjunct sweetness (a blend of corn and rice) and more vegetal notes as it begins to warm - almost no bitterness to speak of here. Medium-bodied, a bit fuller-bodied than I expect for this type of beer, and the brisk carbonation adds to the drinkability.

Not a bad beer at all, in fact Hauenstein offers a lot of the same taste and drinkability of Grain Belt Premium but at a lower price. I could see this one having a real appeal to certain folks*, to say nothing of the Generation Y hipsters bellying-up in the dive bars of the Twin Cities. A real treat cold, and straight from the package.

Served chilled, in a Libbey pint.

* The packaging is smart and classic: "The beer with a little character" reads the motto on the 12 pack carton, and it refers to the cartoon mason (miner?) in the emblem atop the can or label. A nice can for collectors.

Interesting bottle from Mothman (thanks Ben). The label looks old school, like I imagine a beer looking in the 50's or 60's. The beer is clear and pale golden colored, thin wet foam, classic lager. The aroma is muted, neutral but leaning towards malts. A hint of bavaria but also a hint of midwestern corn. The taste is also understated malt, not too different from Budweiser if memory serves. Very drinkable as it should be, pretty damn tasty for the style and much appreciated.

Pours 1/2 finger white fizzy head that fades quickly. Color is a clear light straw yellow. No lace either. Nothing to fancy going on so far.

Aroma: Grains, citrus hops, some bananas and cloves. Very interesting for an adjunct lager. It reminds me of a dulled down Schells Hefe. I could be way off here, but I think this is pretty interesting and I dig it.

Taste: Grains come out first, but then I get get the clove and banana flavor as well. The hops are dulled down here but the taste is very unique for an adjunct lager. It definitely tastes like the category, but it has some added flavors to it.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and a little smooth over the palate. Light bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Ends with a sticky grain flavored aftertaste.

Overall, I can see why this adjunct is rated higher than most. I am not being biased in my review, and this beer simply has got a lot more flavor going on with it. It fits the style well, but has a bonus with it. Definitely worth a try if lagers are your thing. Very drinkable.

Hauenstein Beer. The name says it all, beer. That's what this is, classic adjunct lager in all it's, ahem, glory. Pours a clear how the fuck should I know, drank it from the bottle. I'm sure it's clear as a bell and yellow, as it should be. Smells like basic brewers malted barely and corn. Clean. Taste is sweat, corny and lightly bready, again, clean. No hop character to speak of. Look, as far as adjunct laden lager goes, this one is really good.

Pours a fizzy yellow with a thick white head that doesn't leave much lacing. The smell is milled grain, something like mineral alcohol, a little pondwater. The taste has a slight mineral tang, with corny sweetness and a mild hop bitterness. It's fizzy and clean to the palate. A decent beer - would've liked it better, probably, on a hot summer day.